A Shadow's Path
by Dark Sharingan
Summary: The path of a young boy who has a demon inside him leads him to meet Gaara of the Desert, and Naruto, the most unpredicitble guy. PG-13 for language and violence. Humor appears at end of Chapter 5 and 7. My first Naruto fic...
1. A Shadow is Born

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**A Shadow's Path**

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by Kwan Tran

Copyrighted © 2004

**-note-**

—I do not own any of the original Naruto names

—For the translation I got for Naruto, instead of "shinobi", it was "ninja" instead so I will be using "ninja" for this story.

—Like the show, names will be LAST FIRST, instead of the American FIRST LAST.

—In chapter 5, the ending is totally different from the others. Something new that I added.

—and please review (and please add your suggestions and stuff. Do not write a review saying how horrible it is, but write what I need to improve on)!

**— Fortuately, I have a great friend, temjinxzarron, who went through my story and told me how to fix it, so I fixed it by adding things that are happening to our wonderful character, Naruto, and the evil psycho, Gaara. Hope this makes it better!**

**-end note-**

**-brief explanation-**

This is basically the Naruto series re-written by me. The difference is that there is a new country (besides Sound) when entering the Chuuin exam. All is this will be focused around the characters of the new country not around Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke as in the episode. Eventually they meet up and some stuff happens. Well…enjoy reading!

**-end explanation-**

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**Chapter 1: A Shadow is Born**

Years before there was even a trace of human existence, creatures lived on the world, demons, neutral creatures, and goodly creatures. They lived on the land as if humans would. The demons and goodly creatures occasionally battled each other while the neutral watches and joins the winning side.

Among the demons were Kurohyou (means Black Panther) and Kyuubi, the strongest of the demons. Both of them were very good allies. The alliance eventually became friendship. The duo became incredible.

They went through the world conquering and showing their power. The demons could only obey to the strength. Thus, this was the only time where the demons were united, but under one common thing, fear of Kurohyou and Kyuubi.

The goodly creatures saw the growing evil and were forced to act. They fought and attempted to break the demons, but they could not. The demons were too great.

One day, the goodly creatures were able to capture a demon; a deal was made. In exchange for the life of the demon, it would cooperate. An ambush occurred.

Kurohyou and Kyuubi were ambushed by the traitorous demon and the goodly creatures. Kyuubi was killed and his spirit sealed away (only to come back again), but Kurohyou escaped with a horrible wound. He fled.

He fled far away, into lands no other creature has ever ventured to. There, he stopped and died. His body, Chakra, and spirit was left buried into the earth, but his black blood flowed through the area, creating an eternal darkness to the land.

The demons disbanded and there was balance once again. Eventually, all of the creatures disappeared leaving only the land. These creatures are the summons of today's summoning techniques.

Years passed with no actual intelligent being in the world. Then, humans appeared. Time passed again as the humans grew and evolved, and ninjas were born.

These humans began to form groups which grew into nations. A few years before the Ninja Wars, a group of people ventured into the far distant unknown land, the land of darkness.

There, the ventures stopped and began to settle. They grew into a country of their own, the Country of Darkness. Ninjas also grew and became powerful. The ninjas were formed at the Hidden Village Shadou.

The darkness was the foundation of the country. The darkness became a tool for the ninjas and most techniques were based on the darkness. Even the Chakra of the country was black, like the Chakra of Kurohyou.

It was peaceful. No one knew of their existence; the country never became involved with the Ninja Wars. But the peace was eventually stopped for a brief moment.

The spirit of Kurohyou began to arise. It arose to a normal sized panther with enormous power. The ninjas could barely defend themselves. Kurohyou was then captured once again by the country's strongest ninja known as the Shadow Master. His name was Noburu. The spirit had to be sealed into a newborn child immediately. It was a full moon.

A boy was chosen. He was born the night before to the noble family of Shadou, the Shadow Clan. The sealer had to give his life to seal the demon. Only the Shadow Master was strong enough to even complete the seal. He gave his life.

The demon was sealed and Noburu died. His body and spirit turned into a black shadow and enveloped around the baby and then disappeared. The spirit of the Shadow Master will forever protect the boy from danger at the spirit's will (the boy can still be hurt if the spirit chooses not to protect the boy).

The baby gave a yawn and fell asleep with his mother cradling him in her arms and the father watching and holding his wife. The boy's name is Shadow Kwan.

**-Meanwhile in the ****Sand****Village-******

A little baby was born. It wailed like any baby would. His father stood by and began to complete a set of seals and a layer of sand circled around the baby.

The mother watched as her son became something she did not wish. She gave his name and then died.

The boy fell asleep not knowing his dark future that lay ahead of him.

**-Meanwhile in Konoha-**

A little baby was crying in a basket surrounded by a few ninjas. There was only candles to light the area.

A man walked over and completed a set of seals and then thrust his hand at the baby's stomach. Red chakra enveloped the boy and then disappeared. The man then fell over, dead. A spiral mark was left on the baby's stomach.

The boy fell asleep, not knowing what great fate that lay ahead of him.

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end of chapter 1! Please review! I know it doesn't explain a lot, but the story will develop as I make more chapters!


	2. Dark Fate

**Chapter 2: Dark Fate**

_Three years later…_

"Niisan! Niisan!" Kwan cried as he ran to the front porch

"Huh?"

"What's ninja school like?"

"Lots of work," his brother replied. His name was Zin and only three years older than Kwan. He had black hair like everyone else in the country and had brown eyes —also like everyone in the country, except Kwan who had black eyes.

"Well…I want to be the bestest ninja evers!"

"It's not that easy. I'm even having trouble in it, and I'm the top of my class.

"But I'm always protected by the Dark Spirit. Wouldn't that make me a good ninja?"

"There is a weakness to everything. So don't depend on the Dark Spirit too much. Plus, you have to learn the skills of a ninja."

Kwan frowned.

"Don't worry. If you're like me, you'll have no trouble." Zin smiled and patted his little brother's head. "Well, off to school," and he left.

Kwan watched his brother walk until he was out of sight, and then he walked back inside the house where his parents were talking.

"He's our son! You can't throw away something precious like that!" the mother cried.

"He is a threat to the village! Thing's too precious are evil! Our spies in Sand have notified us of a boy named Gaara. He is the same as our son who has a spirit to protect him. His spirit is a spirit of sand while ours is a spirit of darkness. This Gaara has already killed people! Think of what he will become when he is older! He will become a killing machine! Our son will fall on this same path!" He stood up right when Kwan walked in.

"Mother? Father?"

"Run Kwan! Run!" his mother cried.

"Huh?" Kwan asked puzzled.

His father began to walk towards Kwan with a kunai and a smoke ball.

"No!" His mother grabbed his father and tugged at him trying to stop him.

The father smacked her across the room into the wall, making her fall on a box of kunai no one apparently noticed. The father continued towards Kwan.

"Mother!" Kwan cried. He stared at the body and then at his father. His father no longer looked like someone he could love but he saw a beast. Kwan tried to run but he tripped.

"Let's see if you're little shield will defend against poison gas!" The father through the ball at the boy's feet and ran outside to get away from the smoke.

The father stared at the smoke as a few people outside watched him. The smoke cleared and he gasped. Kwan was still standing and was crying.

"Die you monster!" he cried and thrust the kunai at Kwan. The Kunai was easily deflected by the Dark Spirit.

The Dark Spirit then created needles that were made of pure darkness and forced them to the father. The father could not even scream for his death. One of the on lookers screamed.

Kwan stood for awhile, tears gushing out of him. Then he began to run. He ran away from his home, away from death, ran away from the people he loved. He ran into the forest and hid there, crying, with two thoughts in his mind: his parents and the word "monster".

_Later in the early afternoon at school…_

"Zin, you need to follow this Chuunin to the office please," the teacher spoke.

Zin stood up from his seat and followed the Chuunin into the office and sat down. The Chuunin spoke.

"Um…Zin, we have very important news. It's about your parents. They were killed…"

Zin gasped, his face in absolute shock. After a few moments, Zin finally spoke fighting hard to not cry.

"Wha-what hap-pend?" he managed to asked his voice shaking.

"Your father went insane and killed your mother and attempted to kill your little brother, but the Dark Spirit defended him and killed your father…"

"Where's my brother? Is he alright?"

"We don't know. We heard that he ran into the forest. We already have ninjas looking for him."

Zin sat there processing everything again in his mind.

"A ninja must not show emotions. But you're not a ninja yet, so go ahead and cry…" the Chuunin spoke.

Zin did cry…

**-****Sand****Village-******

A little red-haired boy walked around the streets with his a little old teddy bear. The streets were empty. He wondered why no one would come out and play with him.

He continued to roam around until he heard laughter. He ran to see what it was and saw a couple of kids throwing a ball around. He walked over and the kids stopped and stared at him.

"Ah! It's the monster!" a boy screamed and threw the ball at the red-haired boy.

A wall of sand shot up from the ground and stopped the ball, but as soon as the sand disappeared, the kids had run away leaving the little boy alone…

**-Konoha-**

A little blond-haired boy walked around in the streets. People glared at him as if all their hatred was focus on him. The boy walked around looking for a place to eat since he didn't have any parents and couldn't really care for himself.

The boy roamed around asking if he could have a little food, but all the answers were the same; he was rejected. Just as he was about to give up, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Hey kid! You hungry?"

The boy turned to see a man standing at a certain bar. He didn't hesitate and scrambled over and sat himself in one of the stools.

"I guess you are, so here ya go!" the man exclaimed as he plopped down a big bowl of ramen.

The boy dove into it and devoured it all asking for more.

"You eat a lot kid," he could merely say as he gave some more food to the boy.

That was when the boy became to love ramen forever…


	3. First Day of School

**Chapter 3: First Day of School**

_Three years later…_

"Ah! First day of school! This is going to be great!" Kwan, now six, exclaimed as he walked to school with his brother.

For the past three years, Kwan has been living with Zin and a female guardian Chuunin. Her name was Seiko and was twenty-three years old. She is living with Zin and Kwan as if she was an older sister.

"Zin, do we have any relatives?" Kwan asked.

"I don't think so. They all died in battles against exiled ninjas and missing-nins and none had any children. Most of them were part of the ANBU," Zin replied.

"Oh…so are we the last of the clan?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Until one of us has kids, which won't be anytime soon…"

"What causes a baby to be born?"

"Uh…look!" Zin pointed ahead of them quickly changing the subject "the school is right there."

Before them was the ninja school. The school building itself was only about half of a football field and only two stories high. Most of the area was different fields of training to train ever skill possible.

"And so, I begin my quest of becoming the greatest ninja ever!" Kwan exclaimed.

Zin gave a fake cough. "Uh…well, I need to get going. I already know my class since I've already been here quite awhile. Go to the small crowd over there. That's where the new students go to. Well, see you later!" and Zin walked off into the building.

Kwan looked to the crowd of around twenty-five and took a deep breath and walked over, staying in the shadows unnoticed. He stayed away from the crowd, and he also noticed that many other kids like him were nervous. The crowd was a bunch of small black-haired kids wearing dark clothes. There was no uniqueness among them besides their face. Without the face, they would all look practically the same.

After awhile, the crowd began to quiet down and a man was standing on a tiny platform. He began to speak,

"Good morning!"

Half of the crowd responded with a good morning.

"Well…only have of you guys say good morning. I guess the rest of you don't want to become a ninja. Guess I'll just kill you." The speaker pulls out a few kunai and pretends to prepare to throw them.

Immediately the rest of the crowd said good morning, except Kwan, but no one notices.

"Well then, that's better." The speaker put away his kunai. "Welcome to the Country of Darkness Ninja Academy. I am the leader of the Academy. My name is Sarekai. Remember it.

"Now, there will be no welcoming speech. We will immediately show you your sensei and you will begin learning the wonderful art of ninja. Please meet your sensei, Raiga."

The leader of the Academy stepped off and another man got on.

"Good morning!"

The crowd responded with good morning, except Kwan.

"Well, follow me into the building and I'll lead you to the classroom and began introducing the school to you." He walked off the platform and began walking to the front doors. The crowd also followed him, with Kwan walking in the shadows unnoticed.

After awhile of walking, they reached a room and went inside (room like the one in the show), each child choosing their own seat and began to whisper excitedly. Kwan entered unnoticed and sits in the back within the shadows, again unnoticed.

"Now that everyone is here. I will explain things. First, the purpose of this school. Many of you probably believe that being a ninja will make you cool. It might and might now. To be a ninja means that you will be willing to fight and die to save the village and the important people of yours. In this school, we will train you how to fight and defend yourselves and others from danger. Being a ninja means you will be a tool of the village. You will be used for missions that are at different levels, some even life-threatening.

"Now for other things. We already have many weapons here that you can use, but if you wish, you can bring your own, but if it is loss, then we have no responsibility over it. And the rules…

"There will be no fighting with other students unless we permit so. There will definitely be no killing. Also, there will be no swearing. You cannot practice when we don't allow it. Respect the staff. Do not be late to class. It shows that you are not responsible enough for a ninja. Do not disrupt the class. And…no cheating, ever!"

The students stared at him, most of them pretending to listen.

"If you break rules, then…" he tossed a kunai right next to a random kid inches from his head. "there will be consequences." He used some of his Chakra to create a string and pull the kunai back to him. The students stared at him in awe.

"Now, we will be introducing each other. Say your name, what you like, what you like to do, what your goals are, and whatever you wish to add. Any volunteers?"

No one raised their hand.

"Well, I'll start then. And then I'll go down the row. My name is Raiga. I like to teach little kids like you. My goal is to make sure all of you become excellent ninjas. Also, I like to surprise my students." He smiled. "Now you," he pointed to the first person at the end of the row.

So, he went through the whole class from right to left then the next row from right to left (if you were to stand where the sensei was). Occasionally there were laughs to the people who liked getting attention and other emotions for other people. Eventually it got to the last person, Kwan, and the other students actually noticed him there. He didn't stand to present himself like the other students and sat there still partially hidden in the shadow, as if he was part of it. The other students whispered to one another.

"My name is Shadow Kwan. I am the youngest of the noble family of this country, the Shadow Clan." The whispers increased. The strong family was well-known and very respected though there is only two left. "As of now, I love only my brother and my guardian Chuunin. I might find people in the future but I highly doubt it. I like to train to become strong to eventually become the strongest ninja. Also, I have a spirit that will protect me forever. We call him the Dark Spirit."

There were more whispers and stares.

"Okay…" Raiga-sensei spoke, "Well, that was very interesting. Now we all know each and everyone of us better. Now, I assume all of you know at least how to use some weapons and some fighting skills that you have learned from someone," he was careful to avoid the words family or parent for the sake of Kwan. "I can already see some of you already brought your own weapons."

Some of the students took them out to showoff to other peers.

"Now we will go outside into an open field." He walked to the door and opened it. "Follow me."

The class followed him outside into an open field with Kwan again in the shadows. There was already another class outside and the students were fighting each other in one-on-one battles. Raiga led them to one of the field opposite of the other class. On their part of the field was a table with two boxes and a hole in both of them from the top. Raiga stood next to the box and the students huddle around him.

"I want you to stick your hand in one of these boxes and draw out a piece of paper and look at it. There will be a number on it. Wait until everyone has finished."

Everyone rushed to get their pieces of paper. Kwan stayed where he was standing, slightly away from the crowd.

"Kwan? Aren't you going to get your slip?" Raiga asked.

Kwan held out his hand and a slip of paper was in his hand.

"Oh…well then, everyone! Please stand behind this line."

Raiga took a kunai and dragged it across the ground making a long straight line. The class immediately went behind it, including Kwan within the shadows.

"Now I will explain this to you. There are twenty-six slips of paper with the number one through thirteen. I will call out the numbers in order and you will step up across the line. Then you will fight each other. This will show me your current skills as a ninja. Use weapons if you wish, but fight with all you have. I will intercept before any serious injury is done."

The students all gasped.

"Number one. Please step up," and the fighting began. The fighting skills of everyone were not fantastic, excluding a few and one very excellent girl. They were after all only six. You can expect very little from them. Now, the last fight comes.

"Number thirteen, please step up." A boy stepped up with a smirk on his face. The boy was expected to be the top male of the class. Kwan stepped up with no expression on his face with his arms crossed (very much like Gaara). They faced each other.

"Ooo! A Shadow. One of the last Shadows. Heh…you look like scraps to me. I'll end this quick so that you won't be badly hurt," the boy spoke.

Kwan stood there, expressionless and quiet.

The boy looks agitated and dug into his pouch and drew out a shuriken.

"Later!" he cried and threw his shuriken at Kwan.

Before the shuriken could hit Kwan, a darkness appeared before the shuriken and stopped it as if it was a wall. The darkness disappeared as did the shuriken.

"What the? My shuriken! You'll pay for that!" They boy charged Kwan and punched him in the face forcing Kwan to stagger back with a confused look on his face.

"What?" he thought mentally.

"Do not worry. I was just showing what pain is like and to make him overconfident," a voice inside his head spoke.

"Well you could have told me before," Kwan spoke back mentally.

Kwan straightened and stood expressionless with his arms crossed.

"Looks like you aren't all the protected," the boy taunted and rushed in again.

Before the punch hit Kwan, darkness appeared once again and stopped the hand from hitting Kwan. The boy was surprised. Then the boy was lifted into the air from his feet by darkness from the ground. The boy hung upside down.

"Let me go! Let me go!" the boy cried.

"Remember the name Shadow. The clan that is the master of all that is dark. And remember me, Kwan, the one who will be come the strongest ninja," Kwan spoke with his arms still crossed.

The darkness let the boy go as the boy crashed into the ground. The darkness withdrew back to the ground. Then everyone gasped. Kwan had no shadow on him. The darkness then crawled to Kwan and formed Kwan's shadow. Kwan walked back to the crowd and crowd stepped away from him. He stood within the shadows once again, alone.

**-****Sand****Village-******

"Yashamaru!" a boy with red hair cried out. He was sobbing on a body of a blonde woman.

"Please die," the blonde hair woman spoke. She then ripped open her vest and there was a big explosion.

The boy was shield by a wall of sand. He continued to cry. Then, he stopped. His eyes were no longer filled with sadness, but they were instead filled with pure evil. And on his forehead was a bloody imprint that said "love."

The boy walked away as if nothing happened…

**-Konoha-**

A blond-haired boy was sitting the classroom sleeping on the desk. Everyone else in the class began to laugh.

A tall man with brown hair ran over and hit the boy on the forehead. He immediately woke up screaming in pain.

"Ow! Why did you do that?" the boy screamed.

"You do not sleep in my class!"

The boy stuck out his tongue and jumped out the window. Little did he know that he was on the second floor and hasn't learned how to land properly. The boy landed flat on the face. The class erupted in laughter.

The boy merely smiled that he could get some attention before falling unconscious.

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Well, this was much longer than the others. To clarify some stuff that you might not understand, the defense that Kwan has is very similar to Gaara's except he uses darkness (black shadowy stuff). And that Kwan's darkness can appear anywhere unlike Gaara's where it has to come from the ground first.

Please review! Tell me any suggestions or anything I can improve on. Or if you have anything you are unsure about, please do tell so I know how to explain it. Thanx!


	4. Training::Murder::Kidnapped

**Chapter 4: Training/Murder/Kidnapped**

_Three years later… _(Kwan is nine and Zin is 12, just graduated and is now a Genin)

Kwan walked out of school by himself and began his trek home. Kwan is no longer in the class he was previously was. He skipped a level (along with an excellent female) and is just a few years from graduating.

He walked in the shadows avoiding contact with other people. In school, he only speaks when he is asked and acts when he is told to. All of the other classmates leave him alone.

Kwan made it home and walked inside; no one was there. He walked over to a table where a note was and read it.

_ Hey Kwan! Zin is doing his missions and I'm at meeting with other Chuunins._

_There is some food in the fridge. We'll be home later._

_ Seiko_

Kwan walked to the fridge and picked out some food and ate it. He sat at the table awhile figuring out what to do. Then he stood up and began walking to the forest where he decided to train his body.

He stood before a tree and studied it. He held his hand and a black katana appeared. These were Shadow Weapons. He could summon and weapon he wished using the element of darkness. His clan was well-known for this.

He took a step back then lunged at the tree swinging the katana with one hand and then swung back many times at amazing speeds. When he was done, he was panting. The tree seemed still for a moments before it fell to the ground in many pieces.

He practiced with the other weapons too: kunai, shuriken, needles, etc… After awhile he then rested a bit then stood back up and began to make a seal.

"Daaku Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried out. An exact copy of him appeared but he was all black like a shadow and was full of Chakra. This move is a better version of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone). Daaku Bunshin no Jutsu (Dark Clone) created an exact copy of the original from darkness with more Chakra than the user.

This jutsu drains quite a lot from the user and only a few ninjas can use it without passing out or exhausting all their Chakra. Unlike Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, the Chakra isn't divided more extra Chakra is created in the copy. This is useful to use the copy to fight while you either run, or recover the Chakra you just used for the clone, or use it as a distraction, or to complete another jutsu that requires more Chakra than what you are capable of.

When using this is very risky because it his hard to control the clone because sometimes it gains a mind of its own and may turn on its user. Plus, so much Chakra is drain just to do it, so most of the time it's pointless.

Kwan stood their breathing even harder. His shadow then moved from Kwan and went to the clone and enveloped it. The clone walked over and restored some of Kwan's Chakra with a medic ability.

"Fight me now," the clone spoke.

Kwan, breathing normal now stood motionless. Then he attacked. He ran forward and threw a punch and before he hit his clone he disappeared behind the clone and continued the punch. The clone vanished.

"Using shadows won't work against me Kwan. I am after all the first Shadow Master. If you can somehow use your shadow skills against me, I'll be surprised," the clone spoke behind him. The next thing Kwan heard was his own body thumping against the ground as he was punched from behind.

"I know that. You've told me a million times. This is training. Too bad you can't protect me," Kwan spoke.

The clone laughed. "Don't depend solely on me. What if there is a time when I can't? What will you do then?"

Kwan stood up. "Then I guess I'll just have to protect myself." Kwan vanished once again and appeared around the clone with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. They lunged at him. The clone vanished once again.

"Ryuuka no Jutsu!" they heard from above. They shadow clones were incinerated and disappeared, none of them was the original Kwan. The dark clone was standing on a branch.

Then Kwan appeared and kicked the branch causing it to break making the dark clone fall.

"Doryuu Taiga!" Kwan cried out completing a seal. The ground below the falling clone became thick with mud. The clone fell in it getting stuck in the mud. Kwan then completed some seals and cried out another name.

"Housenka no Jutsu!" and many fireballs came zooming toward the clone.

"Clever," the clone cried out. The clone collected a lot of Chakra around his hands and feet and was able to stand on the mud and jump out of the way.

"If it was somebody else, you probably would have won right there. Getting an opponent stuck in mud and then using a multiple fire technique. The opponent would then counter with a water barrier, but hidden in the fire are shuriken and the opponent wouldn't be able to block. Summoning an earth barrier wouldn't work because the fire would explode on the Earth. You are improving quite well."

"Well, I am being tutored by the Shadow Master himself," Kwan replied grinning as he landed.

"Don't need to flatter me," the clone spoke and putting his hands behind his head. "Come at me again."

"Okay…" Kwan vanished once again. It was quiet for awhile. Then he appeared with a mass amount of shadow clones around the dark clone.

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" he cried out and each of the shadow clones threw a shuriken with another shuriken hidden in its shadow. Before the shuriken hit the dark clone, a dark shield enveloped him stopping all the attacks.

Then the dark clone appeared right in front of Kwan and punched him in the stomach.

"No fair..." Kwan gasped.

"Do not underestimate anyone. Think beyond normal. What if one day you meet someone like yourself where there is a spirit that protects them? Expect it," the dark clone explained. And Kwan fell over unconscious.

The dark clone summoned a katana and stabbed himself with it. The clone disappeared and Kwan's shadow returned to him. The sun had just set.

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Kwan was standing in a dark world. He could see nothing except another boy. The boy had red hair and light green eyes with the word "love" on his forehead.

"Who are you?" Kwan cried out. The boy just stood standing. Kwan looked behind the boy and saw that the shadow was of a raccoon. The shadow spoke though the boy did not.

"I am the traitor…" the shadow cried out. A shot of pain went through Kwan's head. He collapsed to the ground and looked at the boy. Anger and rage pulsed through his body.

"I will kill you!" a voice behind roared. Kwan turned around and saw two shadows: one of a man and one of a panther. He turned back around and looked at the boy.

The boy was now sitting down his head buried in his arms, his arms resting on his knees. He seemed to be crying.

Kwan looked down at his hands and feet, and saw that they were huge black paws. He began to run; he ran on his legs and hands. The next he knew, he had sand and red stuff in his mouth. It was blood…

--

Kwan woke up with a start breathing hard.

"A dream…" he whispered. Then he looked at the sky. The moon was high above him.

"Oh my god! How long have I slept?" Kwan cried.

"It's around midnight," the Dark Spirit spoke to him.

"Oh! I should be home already! Why didn't you wake me up?" he cried.

"You needed your rest. You used a lot of Chakra."

Kwan stood up and vanished, traveling in the shadows. He then appeared outside his house and approached the door. His hand went for it and then stopped. Something felt wrong. He shrugged it off and stepped inside and saw a body on the floor. Chills went through his body. He approached the body carefully and looked at it.

"Seiko!" he cried out. He bent down and turned her over. She was barely alive. There were cut marks every where and many of her ribs were broken.

"Kwan...we...we were attacked…They captured Zin…" she managed to say.

"Who? Why?" Tears began to go down his face.

"They want to see the secret of your clan. They...they…they're going to kill him."

Kwan gasped.

"I'm sorry, Kwan. I'm going to miss you. I wanted to see become the great ninja that you declared. I love you…" and her voice trailed off and she was silent.

Kwan cried as he laid his head on the body. He clutched the dead woman's hand and held it. Then he let go. He stood up and wiped his tears away. He vanished once again and appeared outside the village and next to a house near a stream. He looked around and then vanished once more and was inside.

Before him was a group of men huddled around something. Kwan then appeared in the center of the group and looked at his brother.

Zin was strapped to a table and was breathing really hard. The group of men took a step back.

"Kwan…" he spoke with a raspy voice.

"Zin…"

"I'm sorry. I won't be there for you anymore. I've been poisoned. I can feel it draining me away…"

Kwan summoned a kunai and began to cut Zin off the table. A few men took a step forward and Kwan glared at them. The men grabbed their heads and collapsed to the ground screaming. The other men bent down to see what happened to them.

"I'll say hi to mom…take care. You _are_ going to be a great ninja…"and his voice trailed off just like Seiko's.

A tear dropped from Kwan's eyes and his hands squeezed on his kunai. "You're wrong. I am going to be the _greatest_ ninja…" he whispered to himself. The screams of the men stopped; they were unconscious.

"Well, we have the last of the Shadow Clan. Lucky us," one of the men spoke. "We have to bodies to search now. The more the merrier." And he laughed.

Kwan merely glared at him and his eyes became bloodshot and he began to scream grabbing his head.

The group of men began to back away.

"I will kill you all!" Kwan cried out. The men began to run. They tried the doors and windows but they did not break or open. The walls also didn't break. The men turned around and stared at Kwan in fear.

The men then began to attempt to kill Kwan. All their attacks were stopped though by the Dark Spirit. They all stared into his eyes which were a mistake. They all screamed grabbing their heads.

Kwan vanished along with the body of Zin. The place was engulfed in flames. The men did not feel the flames though, they were screaming with the nightmare inside their heads.

Kwan appeared back at his house and laid the body of Zin next to Seiko. He looked at them and began to cry again and fell asleep…

**-****Sand****Village-******

A boy with red hair roamed around the streets; everyone avoided him. It was dark and was quite dangerous to roam around the streets at this time. Not because of any thugs, but because of this boy.

An unfortunate man walked around the streets with a bottle of sake in his hand. He was apparently drunk. The man continued to walk until he bumped into a little kid.

"Hey watch it punk or you'll going to have to run home and cry to your mommy!" he threatened. The boy stood still and the man looked at him confused.

"Hey! Did you hear what I—" and the man noticed that his hair was red and there was a gourd on his back.

"Oh my God!" he screamed as sand surrounded him. The sand began to tighten and then it crushed him, mixing the blood with the sand.

The boy continued to walk, as if nothing had happened.

**-Konoha-**

A boy with blonde hair walked around the streets looking to see if any of his friends would play with him. He approached a house and knocked on it.

"Hello? Who is it?" a woman answered the door.

"Hey! Can Kiba come out to play?" the boy asked. His answer was a door slammed against his face.

"Damn kid! Kiba! Why are you friends with this freak?" the mom shouted as the boy walked away sad.

"Man! No one wants to play with me. Everyone's parents seem to hate me, except maybe Shikamaru, but all he wants to play is chess, and I don't even know how to play…" he spoke to himself solemnly.

--------------------

Well, that's the end of chapter 4! This is also longer than my others… Remember that everyone has black hair and usually wears dark clothing. If you didn't understand during the training; the dark clone was being controlled by the Dark Spirit. And the jutsu that Kwan used on the men is very similar to Tsukiyomi. I haven't come up with a name yet, hoping for suggestions. It can't be called the same because Tsukiyomi requires the Sharingan, and Kwan obviously doesn't have it. Instead he has black eyes (iris is black), which only appears very rarely through out the Shadow Clan and only a few has ever had that ability. More to come! Please review and add suggestions.


	5. Graduation::Teams::Thief

Woohoo! Chapter 5! Uh…I added something new and different from before. It's going to add humor to the story so it won't be a dull dark story. Enjoy!****

**Chapter 5: Graduation/Teams/Thief**

_Two years later..._

"Today is the final exam," the sensei told the class.

Zin and Seiko were buried, and Kwan has been living alone for the past two years. He didn't speak much and barely did anything, except training in the forest and go to school.

"The final exam will be a one on one battle with me. I will judge you as we fight. Shadow Kwan does not need to participate because he is the top of the class." There were a few whispers in the room; many were guessing that the sensei was afraid to fight Kwan. "Now follow me outside. Kwan, you can either stay here or come outside and watch."

The class followed him outside as Kwan sat there motionless. The last person out was the same girl who moved up to higher classes with Kwan. She was staring at Kwan as she walked out. Kwan vanished.

The class walked to the field and saw Kwan leaning against a tree in the shade with no expression on his face. The students merely glanced at him; they were used to his sudden appearances. One by one the students went up and fought. Kwan watched showing no emotions and not noticing a certain stare in the crowd. Eventually, the fighting was finished and everyone was lying on the ground exhausted. After a moment of rest, the class walked back inside. Kwan vanished once again.

The class was back inside finding Kwan sitting in his seat. The class sat down chatting anxiously and nervously as the sensei went into another room to look over his notes. After awhile, the door opened and the sensei walked in with a big box and set it down and turned to the class.

"Well…" there was a brief moment of silence "You all pass!" The crowd erupted into cheers and hugs. After the class calmed now, the sensei continued talking.

"I will now hand out your forehead protectors." He opened the box and inside was brand new forehead protectors. Everyone rushed up to get their own. Kwan merely took one by using his skills with shadows and never left his seat.

The forehead protector had a black cloth and the symbol of the country of Darkness. The symbol was a crescent moon to represent the dark night. Kwan placed it on his forehead and tied it. Everyone put their forehead protectors on (on any part of the body) and quieted down and the sensei spoke again.

"We will now divide you into teams of three and your new sensei. I will also give you the location and time of where you will be meeting up," and he proceeded in naming the teams. Then, Kwan was finally put into a team.

"Team 8 will consist of Shadow Kwan, Kuromori Aiko, and Okawa Mai. Your sensei is named Rai. He wants you guys to meet at Kwan's house at six." Kwan glanced at the two other girls.

Kuromori Aiko. She is the one who moved up a level with Kwan and had red eyes. She was the second best in the class, second from Kwan. She apparently seemed really happy with her group.

Okawa Mai. She —who was a years older than Kwan and Aiko like everyone else in the class— was the third best of the class and had green eyes. She didn't appear to have any problems with Aiko but was slightly disappointed with Kwan. She shrugged it off remembering that Kwan was the top of the class and the strongest and that would aid them greatly in missions.

"Well, class is dismissed. You can now gather together. Good luck! You are all now Genins!" The class cheered and the teams formed. All of the teams (except Team 8) left school and began to spend time together. Aiko and Mai stood together staring at Kwan who had stayed in his seat. Kwan stood up and walked over to Aiko and Mai and stared at them.

"Um…let's go get something to eat. Okay?" Mai suggested.

"Okay!" Aiko agreed. The two stared at Kwan waiting for an answer.

Kwan had his eyes closed and was apparently deep in thought. Then he opened his eyes.

"Sure," he said.

The three left school and walked to café. They got some soda and cakes and sat down at a table.

"Aiko…" Kwan spoke.

"Yes, Kwan?" Aiko answered smiling and having a very slight blush.

"You're that girl who did very well on our first day of school during the fights."

"Oh…" blushing a little bit more "that? I was only little, so it wasn't that great."

Mai, sensing something was going on, stood up and said she needed to do something.

"No you don't," Kwan looked at her. "I can see it in your eyes. You have nothing to do. I think you should stay. We need to spend more time with each other since we are going to be teammates.

Mai sat back down surprised. "Well what are we going to do then?" she asked.

"I don't know. Aiko, you got any ideas?"

Aiko stared at Kwan with many thoughts going through her head. "Uh…let's…hmm…."

"Oh I got an idea!" exclaimed Mai "We can say how we feel and think about each other, truthfully." The other two agreed.

"I guess I'll go first since I started the topic. Aiko, I think you are going to be a girl who will be easily underestimated. Even though you are a very great ninja, you still act like another everyday girl and have the same desires of one." Mai smiled and Aiko smiled back.

"And Kwan…uh…I think you are very mysterious and that you like to hide yourself from the world. You never participate in a social activity and you are always lurking in the shadows. And it also seems as if you don't have any friends..."

Kwan sat there with his eyes closed and sighed. "All true. Though, I hope to change the last part soon, because I'm hoping to become friends with my teammates." He smiled, which was awkward for everyone, even Kwan himself, because he hasn't had a full conversation in a long time and let alone smile.

"I guess I'll go now. Mai, you are pretty and you get along well with other people. Since you are older, in missions you would work well for distractions or when infiltrating something. And Aiko, you are also pretty, but since you are my age, you can't really distract older boys. You would work well to come up with a strategy and fighting. During school, I also noticed that you talk to many people, but you don't have any real friends…"

Aiko blushed, "Yeah. I don't have any real friends because everyone is older than me. But like what you said, I hope to become friends with my teammates."

"Well of course we are going to become friends!" Mai interrupted. "Teammates work together and friendship holds that bond." She looked at Aiko. "Oh…your turn…"

"Well, Mai, I'm hoping that you will become like a sister to me where I can talk about _girl_ things and maybe look up to."

"Aww!" Mai hugged Aiko. "This will be like a sisterly moment!" Eventually, Mai let go.

"And uh…Kwan, uh…you're..." Aiko was blushing a little bit.

"Theif!" they heard someone cry in the streets. They looked to see what was going on and they saw a man running down the street carrying a purse. The three stood up.

"Let's make this our first unofficial mission," Mai suggested.

"Alright!" the other two agreed. Just when Mai and Aiko were about to spring off, Kwan grabbed them by the shoulder.

"If we are going to be teammates, then you girls need to learn how I like to travel."

Everything around them seemed to blur and swirl and it grew dark. They vanished. Everything the saw was black and white (no shades of gray, in Photoshop, it's a threshold effect) and everything seemed to move more slowly. The two girls looked at each other and saw that it was all black.

"What happened?" Aiko asked.

"We're in the Shadow World. We have become shadows, that is the reason why we are all black. This is the method of traveling that I am able to do. We no longer exist in the real world. We cannot do anything in this world except move around. We are merely drifting in this world."

The world around them began to move past them.

"Wait? Are we moving? Or is the world moving?" Mai asked.

"We are moving at my will. Everything moves slower because we are traveling at a fast rate. To travel to a location nearby will seem instantaneous, but something far away will take awhile. And nothing can detect us as we are traveling among the shadows. I can travel alone, and I can bring other people along and travel together."

They drifted to a spot in front of the running thief. The world began to blur and swirl and the colors restored. The speed of everything also returned. The thief's eyes shot wide open as he saw three people suddenly appear out of no where.

"What the hell?" the thief cried out in confusion. "You kids get out of my way!" He was greeted by a fist in his face as Mai punched him. She quickly grabbed the purse.

The thief attempted to run but was cut off by Aiko who kneed him in the stomach. He fell over unconscious. A woman came running up to them.

"Oh thank you!" the woman cried out.

Aiko handed her the purse. The three left after a lot of thank you's and cheers from bystanders.

"Could you use that traveling technique in a battle?" Mai asked.

"No, I wouldn't be able to. It takes a lot of concentration for it. I could probably only do it for a surprise attack but that's all."

"Oh…well, it's getting late. I think we should get going," Mai spoke.

"Yeah. You girls know where I live right?" Kwan asked.

"Yeah. It's in the directory," Aiko replied.

"It is? I wouldn't know, I've never actually looked you up," Mai responded.

"Well see you tomorrow then," and Kwan vanished going back to his home.

Mai and Aiko said good-bye and they departed, going their own ways.

------------

uh…………..nothing from Sand and Konoha…I couldn't come up with anything since the characters of Darkness graduated a year earlier…so…..

But I did come up with something. I was just sitting here remember over the anime I watched and I remember Record of Lodoss War 2. The anime was mostly action and there was very little or no humor parts. But at the end of each episode, there was a little extra thing to add humor. It would be the same characters, but they become very OUT OF CHARACTER! Like in one episode, an assassin dark elf from the original show becomes an elf who wants to steal some cupcakes… um…yea…you can basically compare this to the episode when Naruto forgot and started the show 27 minutes early. So, I feel like writing something like it…so here it goes!

------------

Warning: Out of Characterness

**-In one of Konoha's classrooms-**

Kwan and Gaara was standing near each other (not THAT near…more like a few feet near) while Naruto was on the other side of the room doing something to the door.

"Heh heh heh!" Naruto laughed as he stuck a chalkboard eraser between the door and the wall.

"No one is going to fall for that idiot," Kwan told Naruto in monotone voice.

"Well we were told to meet here like thirty minutes ago, so who ever told us to deserves it," was his reply.

"And don't act all bossy around me, I got a demon inside me you know." Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"You big ass idiot," Gaara spoke. "We _all_ have a demon in us."

Naruto stopped and put his hands behind his head. "Oh yeah…"

"Well at least you guys have only one spirit living in you. I got two," Kwan spoke up.

"Well, I can't sleep!" Gaara replied, getting angry.

"Well, a lot people are afraid of me," Naruto spoke up wanting to be part of it.

"YOU IDIOT! PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF US TOO!" Gaara and Kwan screamed together with the demonic faces. They both punched Naruto in the face sending him across the room.

"Well, at least you have a family!"

"Well at least someone loves you!"

"Racoon-boy!"

Gaara stared at Kwan. Unable to come up with a comeback, he launched himself on Kwan and they began to wrestle each other.

Naruto was about to fully recover when the door opened. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the door. Naruto's face paled. The eraser had fallen on Sakura's head.

Gaara and Kwan immediately stood up and pointed at Naruto.

"Uh…uh…uh…you look lovely Sakura-chan," Naruto managed to say and he gave a weak smiled.

Sakura's eyes twitched and then her face became demonic.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!" Sakura screamed in rage.

"No wait! I can explain!" but before he could explain he was slapped so hard he flew through the window and far out into the distance.

Kwan and Gaara stared at what happened. They began to feel uneasy, which was quite rare among these dark boys.

Sakura looked and Kwan and Gaara, her face all normal and pretty now.

"Oh, I someone wanted to talk to you to," she spoke. Two girls walked in through the door.

Gaara and Kwan gulped.

"Hi Temari…"

"Hi Aiko…"

Aiko spoke first, "What did I tell you about calling him 'Raccoon-boy' and fighting him…"

"What did I tell you about fighting your equal…" Temari spoke.

"Wait? What? Equal? Kwan is _way_ better than Gaara."

"What? I was being nice when I said equal. Gaara is obviously the best one here."

Kwan and Gaara looked at each other and began to teleport away with their shadow and sand abilities.

"OH DON'T THINK ABOUT LEAVING!" the two girls cried as they picked up a vase out of no where and threw it at Gaara and Kwan.

For some odd reason, their shields did not defend them and they were knocked unconscious.

"Gaara is better!"

"Kwan is!"

"Sharingan wannabe!"

Aiko gasped. Unable to think of anything, she launched herself at Temari. They began to wrestle each other. Then they broke apart and began to do a real battle.

"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Aiko cried as she complete the seals..

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu" Temari cried as she swung her fan.

The two forces collided causing the fire and wind to wrap around each other and fly upward. The beam above them broke as it fell and crashed onto their heads. Both girls fell to the ground unconscious.

Sakura stood there, her mouth wide open in shock.

"Hey sorry I'm late!" a voice came from the door. Mai was standing there looking inside confused and shock.

"I guess eating ramen together is out of the question then," Sakura spoke.

"Yeah…" Mai agreed looking around.

"Want to be my future boyfriend?" Sakura squealed.

"Okay!"

The two ran outside.

"Sasuke-kun! Where are you?" Sakura cried out.

There was a sigh under the desk.

"Whew! She's gone," Sasuke whispered.

"Who's gone?" a voice behind him asked.

Sasuke turned his head slowly.

"Ahhh! Sakura!!!"

-------

Well…what do you think? Very very Out of Characterness. I warned you though. . Well please review! THANK YOU!


	6. First Meeting::Mission

Hey! Sry it took awhile…I get distracted easily from my writing. . …..well enjoy!

**Chapter 6: First Meeting/Mission**

Kwan was standing in dark forest. There was no light, yet he could see things clearly. There were a group of people standing ahead of him. It was his family.

He heard a roar of a great feline coming from behind him. He began to run to his family crying. As he ran, he heard thumping behind him and knew that the creature was chasing him.

He ran faster and faster, but his family didn't seem to get any nearer. He heard a swoosh from the side as he saw a black creature rush by him and after his family. The only thing he could do was to grab onto the creature's tail.

He tried to pull, but the beast was stronger and Kwan was dragged along the ground.

"No!" Kwan screamed. "No!"

He tightened his grip. Then, everything went black.

**-On Kwan's front porch­­-**

Aiko and Mai were sitting on the steps waiting for Kwan to wake up. They've been sitting there already for ten minutes, and they began to wonder if he was even home. They received their answer when they heard a scream from inside.

Aiko and Mai open the door which was unlocked and ran inside and went into Kwan's bedroom. He was lying in bed with his eyes wide open, though they were much smaller than normal sized.

They rushed over to his bed and tried to wake him up. Kwan kept screaming out "No!" and moving around as if he was trying to escape something.

"Wake up!" Aiko and Mai called out.

Kwan grabbed Aiko's arm. Pain shot through the back of Aiko's neck.

Aiko yelled out in pain while grabbing her neck. After awhile, Kwan let go and he fell back into his bed, sleeping peacefully. The pain stopped for Aiko.

"You okay?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aiko replied while rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yo," they heard a voice from the window.

It was a man with brown eyes and hair with a hair style like Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. He also had a mask the covered most of his face (like Kakashi's) and his forehead protector was worn low so that all you could see were his eyes. He was crouching on the window sill.

"I'm Rai. Um…how is Kwan doing?"

"I think he had a nightmare, but I think he is fine now," Mai answered.

"Oh. What's wrong with your neck?" Rai asked Aiko.

"Oh nothing!" she said quickly and removed her hand.

The next thing that happened was that she was found lying on the floor while Rai was on her back examining her neck. There was black symbol on her neck, the symbol of the Shadow Clan, **Ω**.

"How odd…you have a symbol on your neck that only one other person has…"

"What? A mark? What symbol and who?" Aiko immediately asked.

"You have the symbol of the Shadow Clan on your neck, and Kwan is the only person who _should_ have it."

"What!" she exclaimed with a shocked expression.

"Are you hiding something?"

"No! I was trying to wake Kwan up when he grabbed my arm and I felt pain on the back of my neck."

"Hmm…it seems as if he unwillingly marked you as a Shadow Clan member. I wonder if it has any significance…"

"Well…what do we do now? Do we wake him up?" Mai asked.

"Oh, no. Don't do that. He should rest. We'll do a mission tomorrow. And unlike the other teams, we don't have to do a Survival Examination, since you are the top students. You two can go home, I'll stay here. Don't worry. I am a Jounin you know. I used to be a high ranked ANBU too."

"ANBU? Woah! You must be really good! Yeah, what made you quit?" Aiko spoke.

"Oh. Well, even though I was high ranked, I felt ANBU wasn't the life for me. All you do is kill that guy, kill another dude, and kill him. So I went back to being a Jounin so I can train little kids like you."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "I have another theory. Something went wrong that made you quit ANBU even though you didn't want to. And you turned out to be teaching us because we are the top students, and because _he_ is here." She pointed at Kwan.

"You know, you would be a great information gatherer."

"And why were you late?" Mai glared at him.

"Oh I got lost. I haven't been to this house in quite awhile and I didn't have a directory."

"Why were you here last time?" Aiko asked curiously.

"Oh…nothing really," Rai replied in a tone with sadness. "Well, I'm gonna stay here. You two can leave."

Mai walked out the door while looking back and then sprang off. Aiko slowly walked outside while looking at Kwan. Then she also sprang off.

Rai looked down at Kwan.

"You are an interesting boy. Who would have thought you could do something like that…" Rai rubbed the back of his neck as if he was remembering something. He sighed and sat down reading a book, leaving Kwan back to his sleep.

……………………..

_One year later…_

Kwan opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was sitting in a hotel room. A few feet away, Rai was sleeping soundly.

"What time is it?" he thought.

"About five in the morning. You still got a few hours until you start your mission," the Dark Spirit replied.

Team 8 was on a B class mission away from their village. Their mission was to investigate a robbery at a big city named Kin, and if forced to, they would act. They were doing a B class mission because they are Chuunin level. They just skipped all of the previous Chuunin tests.

"We are saving you for something else," was all Rai replied when his subordinates asked him.

Kwan got dressed and walked outside.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" the Dark Spirit asked.

"I'm not tired. I'm going to go for a walk."

Kwan walked outside the hotel and began to walk around the city. There were very few people out since it was still very early. He walked to the edge of town and stood on a cliff with a handrail.

"What are you doing out so early?" he heard a female voice in his head.

He turned around and saw Aiko approaching him. Kwan sighed.

"I woke up and I can't go back to sleep," he responded mentally.

Ever since that incident a year ago, somehow Aiko and Kwan could send each other's thoughts. No one could figure out why and how it occurred except that it was more than likely related to the mark on Aiko's neck.

"So why do you need to walk around alone?"

"I don't know. I just feel like watching the sunrise."

"Watching the sunrise? Who does that? Normal people watch the sunset." Aiko giggled leaning on the handrail next to Kwan while waiting for the sunrise.

"I just like to watch how light shatters darkness. Sunset is when darkness hides the light away."

"Odd. I thought you'd be the person to like the dark."

"Well, I do, but at the same time, I wish that instead of being a dark person, I could be both light and dark."

"Oh…"

They watched the horizon silently as they waited. Then, a streak of light broke the darkness. A great ball of light rose from the ground and lingered in the sky.

"Wow…it's beautiful."

"Yeah…it is."

Aiko lifted her hands to block some of the light and looked at Kwan. She gasped. Kwan wasn't squinting. The light seemed to not bother him.

"Neither light nor darkness bothers me. It's odd. I don't think it's a clan trait. I've never heard about it…"

Aiko stared at Kwan thinking (not sending thoughts to Kwan).

Kwan turned around and spoke aloud, "Let's go. Our mission is going to start soon."

"Okay." Aiko turned around and walked along with Kwan.

They made it back to the hotel room and walked to their rooms. The girls' room was next to the men's room. They opened the doors and walked in. Kwan walked in to find Rai reading a book.

"Hello. Where have you been?" Rai asked.

"I was watching the sunrise with Aiko."

"Sunrise? That's not very romantic," Rai teased.

"Romantic? Was it suppose to be romantic?" Kwan asked confused.

Rai sighed. "Nevermind…anyways, the robbery occurred a gunpowder warehouse. Cases of gunpowder were stolen. We're going to investigate it." (AN: no, there aren't any guns. Gunpowder is used for mines and fireworks and other things.)

"Oh! And we're walking."

"Aww….fine…."

Kwan and Rai walked outside and knocked on the girls' door.

"We're leaving for the mission now," Rai told the girls.

"Okay. We'll meet you downstairs," was the response.

Rai and Kwan walked downstairs and stood there waiting. After awhile, the girls finally came down.

"What took you girls so long?" Kwan asked.

"Girl stuff," Mai responded while poking Kwan on his forehead with a finger.

Rai coughed. "Let's get moving."

Team 8 left the hotel and began to walk around the town. After about an hour of walking, they made it to the gunpowder warehouse. After speaking with the owner, they walked to the scene of the crime.

There was big empty space where the cases used to be. The team walked around inspecting it.

"This was a very perfectly operated robbery. There are very few signs and there seems to be no damage," Aiko inspected.

"When did the robbery occur?" Kwan asked.

"Sometime yesterday morning. The cases were still here the night before but were gone when the warehouse opened at nine," Rai answered.

Kwan bent down and rubbed the ground where the cases used to be.

"The robbery occurred a week ago," Kwan stated.

"What?" Everyone asked confused.

"If it was stolen yesterday, the dust here would be a lot thinner. I'm guessing there was a genjutsu used. We're dealing with a real ninja, or ninjas."

"Woah!" Everyone shouted.

"That would have slipped by me," Mai spoke.

"So, what now?" Aiko asked.

"There are no more clues. I guess we have to wait until whenever. More than likely they are planning an attack with the gunpowder," Rai explained.

"Probably another robbery," Aiko spoke, "Except this time, they will probably target something with value. Where here is where the most valuable items stored?"

"You don't know? This city has the bank that's rumored to carry the most money and most valuable items of the country. It's named the Golden Bank." Mai answered.

"But we only can guess that they are targeting that. It's the best thing we got. So, we will scout around there today," Rai explained. "We can't be looking like ninjas, so I suggest we use a jutsu. Also, across from the bank is a bakery, so you two girls and pretend to work there. Kwan, you can hide in the shadows like you always do."

There was a puff of smoke and there was now an old man standing there with ragged clothes holding a sign that said, "Money for food".

"Eh? I'm going to be a beggar," Rai spoke with an old man's voice.

"Okay, let's go. We can't walk travel together or it will be suspicious. The bank is in the very center of the city. Stay alert. Good luck!" and Rai began to walk off to the center of city."

Aiko and Mai used a genjutsu to look like every day girls.

"See you, Kwan!" Aiko shouted as she left with Mai on a different path to the bank.

Kwan vanished…

_That evening…_

There was an old man sitting on the ground outside of the bakery begging for money, and inside the bakery were two new employees.

Kwan was inside the bank hidden in the shadows. He could literally walk into a shadow and disappear into it.

They waited for something to happen. The waiting was only a few hours.

At about 9 P.M., there was a big explosion on the edge of town.

"Damn!" Rai muttered under his breath. "We were wrong."

He stood up and puffed back into his original form and signaled everyone to follow him. Aiko and Mai ran out of the shop and followed him. Kwan sent a mental message to Aiko saying he'll stay there, and if they need him, then call him.

Important places were locked down so no one could enter or get out. People ran out of the bank and metal walls came down and blocked it. It became silent.

Kwan was alone in the room, or so it seemed. A plant in the corner of the room puffed into smoke and a ninja appeared.

"Peace of cake," he spoke to himself. The ninja had glasses, spiky hair, and a lot of gadgets on his body. The ninja strode to a door and opened it, and continued walking to the back of the building.

Kwan sent a mental message to Aiko saying that they are going for the bank. Aiko replied saying that Rai is on his way leaving Aiko and Mai to take care of the explosion.

There was an elevator where there was a key needed to activate it and a keypad to insert a code to open it. The ninja pulled a small metal stick from his pocket and stuck it into the keyhole. He placed his finger on it and a spark shot through the stick causing a small door to open up revealing a keypad.

He took a metal needle and stuck it into the keypad. Once again, a spark flew from his fingers and went through the needle. The keypad made a beeping noise and the elevator opened.

"I love my job," the ninja smiled. He grabbed his items and walked into the elevator. As the elevator went down, he began to prepare a little device to unlock the  
Big Metal Door that's blast proof. The elevator door opened and he saw Kwan standing there.

"Oh look! A little ninja is here to stop me," he taunted.

"I advise you to surrender," Kwan spoke.

"Surrender? You clearly do not know who I am. I am a renegade of the Kuuden Clan. The clan that has a bloodline that has natural electric chakra. Our clan is one of the strongest of the country. So don't tell me to surrender you little brat."

Kwan just chuckled. "You, clearly do not know who I am you fool!"

"What? Why you little!" The ninja gathered chakra into his hands to create electricity flowing through his fingers (looks very much like Chidori, but not same thing; this one is pure electric chakra). The ninja also gathered chakra into his feet to make him lightning fast. He dashed at Kwan thrusting his hand into Kwan's face. Right before it reached Kwan's face, it stopped.

"What? I can't move!" he cried.

"That's because I used Shadow Bind on you."

"What? You never moved, so how could have you done it."

"I will tell you who I am." Kwan turned his head so the ninja could see the mark on his neck. The ninja gasped.

"No! You're part of the Shadow Clan! But I thought they were dead."

"I am the last." Kwan walked over and placed a kunai on his neck. "Are you here alone?"

"There are three more behind the doors who transformed into a few diamonds," he immediately answered in fear of the survivor of the clan. "I was going to disable the alarm system with my electric skills and open the door.

"Thank you," Kwan replied and hit the ninja on the back of his neck knocking him out.

Kwan walked over the door. His hand began to glow just like the electric ninja and he placed his hand on the door. There was a beep and the door slid open. Kwan walked in.

"What took you so long? We were waiting—" one of the men spoke from inside but was cut by Kwan's appearance. The man looked behind Kwan seeing his comrade on the floor.

"What happened?" one of the other men called out.

"Surrender. You have been caught," Kwan spoke.

"To a little kid like you?" the men laughed.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. I am part of the Shadow Clan you know…"

"What? Shadow Clan?" they responded in a tone of fear. "No matter. You are still a kid!" The men lunged at him.

"Then I shall just have to hurt you with your comrades skill," Kwan spoke. He summoned the chakra his hands again. The men hesitated.

"What? But that's a bloodline technique!"

Kwan merely smiled. He dashed forward and thrust his palms out into two of the men's chest. The men stood there for a moment shaking and then flew back unconscious. The other men stood there staring at his fallen comrades.

"Care to surrender?" Kwan suggested. The man quickly nodded. He did the sleeping jutsu on himself and fell the ground.

"I guess you didn't need me," came a voice from the elevator. Kwan turned around and saw Rai standing there with his arms crossed.

"Guess not," Kwan replied. They grabbed the men and brought them upstairs then tied them up with special rope that cannot be broken or slipped out of.

"Let's go back and help Aiko and Mai at the explosion," Rai commanded.

"Okay," Kwan replied. He then stood there sending a message to Aiko. He received no response. "That's odd" he thought. He tried again, nothing.

"Something is wrong," Kwan told Rai. "I can't contact Aiko."

"Let's hurry then," Rai spoke, and they sprinted off to the explosion site.

----

Uh…this chapter ends here…I wanted to split the chapter so it wouldn't be super long. It continues next chapter and picks up immediately, plus I wanted to update. I'll have the next chapter in a day or so.


	7. Rage

Gah! Next chapter is the Chuunin exams and when the Naruto characters meet up with these guys. Enjoy reading!

**Chapter 7: Rage**

Kwan and Rai reached the explosion site.

"Aiko! Mai!" Rai and Kwan called out. They heard a groan from under the rubble. The immediately ran over and began to remove it.

"Mai!" Kwan cried out. They bent down helping her sit up. She was all cut up.

"What happened?" Rai asked.

"Ambushed. They captured Aiko," she groaned out.

"Where did they take her?" Kwan asked

"I don't know. We were attacked from behind while we were putting out the fire. The next thing I saw was Aiko being dragged away unconscious and then a bunch of rubble fell on me."

"No doubt these guys are also ninjas working with the ones at the bank. This is a carefully planned operation. There must be a genius ninja planning all of this. Kwan?" Rai looked around. He was no where insight.

"Damnit! He's going to talk to the captured ninjas. I'll carry you Mai." Rai picked up Mai and began to sprint off back to the bank.

----

Kwan appeared before the captured ninjas who were awake. Kwan came up to one of them and stared him straight in the eye.

"Where is your hideout?" Kwan asked.

"I can't tell you. We'll get punished," the man replied.

"You're going to get punished no matter what." Kwan gathered electric chakra into his index finger and poked the man.

"Ah!" the man lurched around. "Alright! It's at the abandoned warehouse near the gunpowder warehouse."

"Thank you. When my team comes, tell them where I went," and Kwan vanished.

**----Old, Dark and Abandoned Warehouse----**

Kwan stood outside the building staring at the walls. The full moon was high in the sky. Kwan vanished and appeared inside right before Aiko.

"Aiko!" Kwan gasped as he saw her chained to the wall with bruises. He ran over and easily broke the chain.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied sitting on the floor breathing heavily.

"Aw. You came to save your teammate," a voice behind him spoke. Kwan turned around and saw a man with ten other men guarding him.

"You should have left her. You need to think about yourself more not others. Otherwise, you'll get killed." The man laughed.

Kwan turned back to Aiko and gasped once more. Blood was dripping from her shoulder. There was a deep gash.

"I see you noticed my little gift to her."

Kwan focused on the wound. Inside his head he saw his parents' death; he saw his dieing guardian, and he saw his dieing brother. He clutched his head trying to block the memories.

"No!" he cried out shutting his eyes.

_'I can't let me friends die! I don't want to be alone again!'_ he thought.

Images of the dead bodies kept flashing in his mind. "No!" he screamed again. Then he stopped. His breathing was normal. He opened his eyes revealing yellow eyes with slits for the pupil. Tremendous chakra began to gush out from his body that it seems there was a huge gush of wind inside the building. He turned around looking at the men.

Kwan's nails have grown into claws and he had fangs for teeth. His eyes were filled with pure hatred.

"I will kill you all!" he let out a roar! His voice was no longer the innocent boy, but not an evil voice full of killing intent.

"Kill him men!" the man cried out. The men began charging after Kwan.

One of the men came right infront of him and stabbed a kunai into his shoulder. Kwan didn't flinch or seem to noticed. He grabbed the man's neck throwing up into the ceiling breaking his skull causing blood to pour down.

Kwan looked at two other on coming men. He held out his hand and darkness enveloped them. Kwan closed his hands, crushing the men into pieces splattering the area with blood.

He took the kunai from his shoulder and threw it at another man with an attached chakra string. The kunai went straight through his chest and Kwan pulled it back. He took the bloody kunai to his lips and licked it.

"Blood…" he whispered. Kwan looked at the remaining six men. They all stared into his eyes. Then they began to scream and clutch their heads. The leader took a step back staring at Kwan in fear.

Kwan's shadow dispersed into tiny pieces and turned into bugs. The bugs crawled its way over to the leader. The leader tried to run but tripped and the bugs began to crawl on him.

"Nightcrawlers. Deadly." Kwan laughed out loud.

The Nightcrawlers began to eat the flesh of the man. He screamed in pain trying to get them off but failed. The Nightcrawlers covered all of his body. The man writhed around in pain. Then he stopped. The creatures crawled back to Kwan and formed his shadow again. There was only a puddle of blood left in the man's place.

Kwan walked over the puddle of blood and scooped it up with his hands and took a drink letting some spill out from his mouth. He gave an evil grin showing his bloodstained teeth.

"I want more blood!" Kwan cried out. The six men began to run. Two of them was caught by Kwan's darkness and was dragged towards him.

Kwan bent down and stared at the two men that were desperate to get away. He laughed once again and then dove down and bit one of them on the neck. The man gave out a scream. Kwan sucked at the man's life. The man fell unconscious with the lost of blood, but Kwan kept sucking. Finally the man was dead and Kwan dove down on the other one. He too died.

Kwan stood up with blood dripping from his lips. The other four men were still running. Once again, darkness enveloped three of them and crushed them while the last one was dragged back to Kwan.

"Please! Have mercy! Let me go!" the man begged.

"A demon does not show mercy," Kwan replied in his demonic voice. "A demon will rip out your heart." He held out his hand and thrust it down aiming for the man's heart. Then he felt someone grabbed him around his waist and he stopped. It was Aiko.

"Stop it Kwan!" she cried. "I don't want you to become a monster! I- I- I love you…"

Kwan's eyes opening in shock. His eyes slowly returned to normal and so did his body. The great chakra leaking from his body stopped and Kwan collapsed to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Aiko. I…love…you too…" Kwan breathed and then fell unconscious.

----

Kwan was standing in a dark forest. He looked around and saw a man wearing black clothes and a black cape looking at him.

"Hello Kwan. It's me, the Dark Spirit," the man spoke.

"What are you doing here in my dream?" Kwan asked.

The Dark Spirit sighed. "It's not a dream. This is your mind. And I have something to tell you that I should have told you long ago."

Kwan looked at him confused.

"Follow me."

Kwan followed the Dark Spirit to a big cave with metal bars blocking it.

"Step up to it," the Dark Spirit commanded.

Kwan stepped up the metal bars. He heard a loud roar behind it and a crashing sound as a giant black panther slammed into the bars.

"What is that? What is it doing in my body?" Kwan asked afraid.

"This is Kurohyou. He is demon that threatened the village. I sealed him into your body before he could do anything."

"Why me?"

"Because you are the only one strong enough."

"What happened at the warehouse? I don't remember everything. All I remember is Aiko getting hurt and blood…"

"Your anger turned into rage that possessed your body. At that time, you were possessing the chakra of Kurohyou. He lends it to you when you really need it or when you ask him. But I don't know exactly what happened. I was blocked out by some force."

"I know what happened," came a loud voice. It was Kurohyou. "You're rage was so strong that you brought out your inner demon. The darkness that grew inside you from the pains you endured. The demon makes you become incredibly stronger, but your mind is also possed by the demon. When you are in that form, I am not lending you my chakra, but you are stealing it from me. You are forcing me to give you it."

Kwan gasped. "Me? A demon?"

"Yes. But you didn't go into your absolute form. In your absolute form, you are practicly invincible. You have black wings and a protective armor. You're eyes will become red instead of yellow."

"What happens then? Do I become a killing machine?"

"Yes and No. If you let the demon fully take over your mind, then you will kill everything in your path. If you are able to bring out the demon by your own will and be able to control it, then no. When you are in control, it will be yellow eyes."

"How do I bring it out?"

"That, you must figure out on your own."

The Dark Spirit spoke, "Um…Kwan, you got to wake up now. You've been sleeping for almost a week from chakra exhaustion, from the wound in your arm, and your psychological damage."

"Okay. But how do I contact Kurohyou?"

"Focus," was all that the Dark Spirit said.

Kwan drifted away.

-----

Kwan woke up. Someone was holding him down. He looked to the side and saw Aiko sleeping next to him with her arms around Kwan.

_'Did she stay with me the whole week?'_ Kwan wondered. He brushed her hair aside showing her face. _'She's beautiful…'_

Kwan managed to slip out without waking her up and walked to the kitchen. Rai was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.

"Oh! You're finally awake."

"Eh…was Aiko with me the whole time?"

"Yeah. Anyways," Rai stood up and handed Kwan a sheet of paper.

"The Chuunin exams are coming up. And I'm recommending you guys."

"Finally…"

"But it's not the same. We are going to the world now. You will be testing in the country of Fire and in their village, Konoha. You will be facing ninjas that have never even heard our country's name before."

"So this is why we never entered before. We are going to show the world our power.:

"Yes. Well, since you are awake now, I'll be leaving. I'll tell Mai you're fine." With that, Rai left the house.

Kwan placed the sheets on the table and walked back into his room. He stared at Aiko's beautiful body. Kwan lay next to Aiko and placed his arms around her and went back to sleep.

**-Sand-**

There was a red-haired boy standing in the middle of a field and was surrounded by a group of men. Off to the side, two of the boy's teammates.

"I don't understand why we have to come. He does all the killing," the boy asked.

"We tag along to make sure he comes back and doesn't go off killing people," the girl replied.

The red-haired boy thrust his hands out and sand enveloped the nearest group of men. He closed his hands and the sand crushed them into pieces.

Weapons were thrown at him but were stopped by a shield of sand. The red-haired boy then had sand envelope him and he turned into a beast with sand as flesh. The beast walked around the area killing everyone in his path. When he was finished, no one was alive…

**-On a bridge in the country of Wave-**

A blonde hair boy jumped and began punching ice mirrors that trapped him. His eyes were red and there was red chakra surrounding him. He easily destroyed all the mirrors and then punched a masked boy in the face making him fly back.

The boy was enraged. He wanted to kill the masked boy for killing his rival, his friend. The boy charged at the masked boy ready to punch him in the face. The mask of the boy began to slide of. Half of it fell; the blonde-haired boy was approaching quickly. The half fell.

The boy stopped inches from his face…

--------------------------

Uh…yea…gory…um…tell me what you think. In the next chapter, the Dark Ninjas are in Konoha discovering the enemies that they will fight. Then they will take the first exam.

Now for the humor section.

--------------------------

Kyuubi was sitting at a table along with Kurohyou and Shukaku. Kyuubi was shuffling some cards while the other two were waiting.

Kyuubi dealt two cards to each demon.

"I bet ten thousand," Kurohyou spoke.

"Wait…" Shukaku spoke. "Ten thousand what. We're demons. We don't _have_ any money."

"Oh yeah," Kurohyou scratched his head. "Fine, I bet you ten pieces of candy."

"I call!" Shukaka slapped down some pieces of candy.

"I call also!" Kyuubi cried out.

Out came the flop: a King of spades, ace of spades, and queen of spades.

"I raise it twenty pieces of candy!" Kurohyou cried out.

"I call!"

"Call"

The next card: a five of diamonds.

"I…check…"

"Raise it five."

"Call."

"Call."

River card: a six of hearts.

"I'm all in."

"I call!"

"Call!"

Kurohyou laughed out loud slamming down his hand.

"Two, three of clubs. Straight! Queen, King, Ace, Two, Three!" He laughed again but then received a heavy blow on the back of his head.

"You idiot! You can't have a straight like that!" Kwan screamed with his eyes twitching.

"Wait. When were you in the room?" Kurohyou cried, rubbing his head.

"Just now, along with Naruto and Gaara. I was hear long enough to say your stupid hand."

Kurohyou coward.

"Well, I guess I win," Shukaku placed his hand on the table. "A ten and eight of spades. Flush." He received a heavy blow on his head.

"You idiot! There are only two spades on the table!" Gaara cried.

"What? I swore there was another spade!" Shukaku cried also cowering.

"I guess." Kyuubi placed down his hand which was a six and seven of diamonds. "A pair."

"Yay! My demon won! Pay up!" Naruto cried out. Kwan and Gaara ground as they handed Naruto some money.

Naruto placed the money in his pocket and helped carry some of the candy for Kyuubi. They sprinted it off. The lasting they heard was "Ramen" and "suckers".

The four was standing there.

"That sucks," Kurohyou spoke.

"You idiot," Kwan spoke.

"Hey wait!" Gaara yelled out. "There _are_ three spades on the table…OH MY GOD! HE MUST HAVE USED A GENJUTSU! WE SHOULD HAVE WON!"

Shukaku stood up. The two ran after the two tricksters.

"Cheater!" Kurohyou cried, getting ready to run after them. He received another blow on his head.

"You still lose! You had no hand what so ever!" Kwan screamed.

"Ah!!!" Kurohyou ran as Kwan chased him.

Off to the side…

"Ha! I win!" Temari cried. "Pay up."

"Darn! Naruto…why did you have to be so tricky…" Hinata cried as she handed her money to Temari.

"Gah! Why does Kwan have to have a dumbass for a demon?" Aiko cried as she handed the money to Temari. The three then walked off together.

Off to the other side…

Sakura and Ino were sitting and watching the whole thing with a crowd of people behind them. They were all laughing their heads off.

"Easy money, right Ino?" Sakura spoke.

"Yeah. Who would have thought that people would pay to see people bet on one another and see stupid things happen."

"We should do this more often," Sakura suggested.

"Yeah…" Ino agreed.

The both gave an evil smirk…

----------

well…that's my humor…it's not that funny…but oh well…thx to those who read this and review. Suggestions would be helpful.


	8. Konoha::First Exam

Hey! Sry for the long update…school is starting soon for me…ugh…well here it is…

**Chapter 8: Konoha/First Exam**

"Uh...I got to go to a meeting for all of the team sensei that has their team participating in the exam. You guys can do whatever, just don't get into any trouble," Rai explained as he left the room.

The three were inside a hotel room in the village of Konoha. Mai was looking out the window while Kwan was holding Aiko in his arms.

"I think we should learn of our opponents," Kwan spoke up. "And we need supplies for the exam. We have no idea what to expect except that there's a possibility of death."

"That's a good idea," Mai agreed. "I can go gather the information about the countries and their style. Then find out individual information on the ones. I guess you two can go shopping."

"Okay!" Aiko agreed. The three walked outside the hotel. Mai sprang off and Aiko and Kwan began to walk to the nearest store.

"Um…I'm sorry, but I'm going to leave for a bit and look around," Kwan spoke.

"Aw…" Aiko frowned.

"It's just for a little bit," and Kwan pecked her on the forehead and vanished.

Aiko sighed and then walked to the store.

------

A blonde haired boy fell back as a boy in black clothes stood there preparing to attack a little boy in his hand. Suddenly, a raven-haired boy appeared and threw a rock at the boy injuring his hand.

"Sasuke-kun!" a pink-haired girl cried out.

"Sasuke…" the blonde boy groaned.

The boy wearing black became angry and pulled something off his back preparing to use it. Then a voice stopped him.

"Kankuro, stop," came a voice behind the raven-haired boy. It was a boy with red hair.

The boy disappeared into sand then appeared on the floor and began to walk away. The raven-haired boy jumped out and called after him.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Gaara of the Desert," was the reply and walked off.

Kwan sat in the shadows listening and watching the whole thing…

------

_Few hours later…_

Everyone was back at the hotel room; everything was completed. Kwan walked over to Mai.

"Hey. Did you get a lot of good information?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Then tell me about a boy named Sasuke."

Mai pulled out a little notebook and held her hand over it sending chakra through it. A bunch of symbols appeared. Her family had there own special writing so no one else could find out their secrets. Mai flipped through it and stopped.

"Here it is. He is from Konoha. He graduated as the top rookie. He is part of the Uchiha Clan, which used to be one of the strongest until the clan was killed. He is the last survivor. The carry a very powerful bloodline called the Sharingan. It enhances the eye to be able to copy and see moves."

"Tell me about his team."

"There is a girl named Sakura. She graduated with one of the top grades. She is very good at controlling her chakra, but she doesn't have a lot of stamina. Also, there is a boy named Naruto. He got the lowest grades in class and he is very loud and unpredictable."

"Okay. Thanks. What about Gaara?"

"Gaara is from the Sand Village. Not much is known about him except that he is very powerful and it seems as if he has never been injured in his life."

"Anyone else I should know about that I didn't suggest."

"Hyuuga Neji. He is part of the noble family of Konoha. Their bloodline is Byakugan allowing them to see almost 360 degrees in vision, see the chakra system and the tenketsu. This allows them to do internal damage with just a touch. It allows the user to see a great distance and through things.

"Aburame Shino. He is very mysterious, but he is known to be very strong. His clan specializes in special chakra-eating bugs. He uses them against the enemy.

"Rock Lee. He is extremely fast and extremely strong making him excellent in taijutsu. That's all."

"Okay. Thanks," Kwan thanked and stood up and walked over to Rai.

"Kwan, I don't want you to use your strong attacks. Only use them if you must. There is no need for needless killings."

"Okay."

"Get to sleep. You got a big day tomorrow."

Kwan walked over to Aiko and gave her a kiss on the forehead before going to sleep.

-----

The team sat in the corner of the room waiting for the first exam to begin. Near the entrance of the room, there was a commotion going on. The boy named Naruto just threatened the whole room and some Sound ninjas just injured a boy who failed all the previous Chuunin exams.

"There will be no fighting in this exam," came a loud voice. "Welcome to the Chuunin exam, and welcome to the two new countries, the Sound ninjas and the Dark ninjas. The first part of the exam will be a written test. Please draw numbers for your seating arrangement."

After everyone drew numbers and sat down the tests were handed out.

"There are ten questions. You start off with ten points. Each correct answer will earn you a point and each incorrect answer will cause you to lose a points. Anyone with zero points will fail along with their team. How much you need to pass, that is what we will decide later. Those who are caught cheating will lose two points each time. After a few times, you will fail along with your team. Do not cheat without thinking. The first nine questions will be forty-five minutes. We will give you the tenth question at that time. Begin."

The tests were flipped over and people began to read it. Kwan and Aiko spoke mentally.

"Do not cheat without thinking," Aiko spoke.

"Yeah, I assume we are suppose to cheat, just do it as a ninja would."

"Yup. So how do you think we are going to do that?"

"Easy. I'll just send my shadow around the room to look at the answers and I'll write it down. Then I'll send you the answers mentally. As for Mai, to make it easy, I'll just use Shadow Imitation on her so as I write she writes the same thing."

"Okay."

Kwan closed his eyes and focused. He opened his eyes again and was now looking down at a piece of paper. He was part of a shadow.

He quickly memorized the answers and came back to his normal self. He used Shadow Imitation on Mai and began writing down the answers while sending it mentally to Aiko.

_'Kwan must be using Shadow Imitation on me to write the correct answers,'_ Mai thought.

The team quickly and easily completed their tests. The team sat and just waited.

Kwan, having nothing to do, used his shadow to see what his opponents are doing. He once again closed his eyes and was peering over a boy with raven hair, Sasuke. Sasuke was writing exactly like the person in front of him.

_'Must be his Sharingan…' _Kwan thought.

Kwan's shadow moved over the boy with red hair, Gaara. He had one of his eyes closed and was writing the test easily. Kwan had no idea how he was receiving the answers.

He moved over to Neji. Neji was looking straight ahead as if he could see the test in front of him. Like Sasuke's, Kwan thought the same thing.

Finally, his shadow traveled to Shino. Bugs were flying around him and Kwan could not figure out his way of getting the answers.__

Throughout the exam, people were kicked out for cheating along with their teams. The room slowly decreased in number. After awhile, the examiner spoke.

"It has been forty-five minutes. The tenth question will now be given. But first, I would like to say one thing. You can take this last question if you choose or not. If you don't take it then you will fail."

"Well of course we'll take it then!" a voice cried out.

"But…if you get the answer wrong, you will fail the exam and never allowed to take the Chuunin exam again."

There was a moment of silence. The silence broke as people began to raise there hands and quit. Then, everyone's attention went over to the blonde-haired kid, Naruto. He slowly raised his hands, and then slammed in on the desk and spoke.

"Screw you! I'm not going to run away! I'll take this problem. Even if I become a Genin forever, I'm going to become a Hokage no matter what anyways! I'm not scared!"

The examiner spoke, "I will ask you one more time. Do you want to quit?"

"I will not take back my words. That is my way of the ninja!" Naruto replied.

His words alone brought everyone's spirit up. No one else decided to quit.

"Well, you all pass," the examiner spoke. Everyone gasped.

"What about the last question?" people cried out.

"You could say that was the last question. Let me explain. The paper test was to test your data gathering skills. Ninja must be able to gather information without being caught and the correct information." The examiner took of his cap revealing scares and holes. "Incorrect information can endanger you, your team, and your village." He placed it back on his head. "So, you were encouraged to cheat during the exam. The last question was to see if you will continue the mission not matter what. When you are a Chuunin, you must complete the mission, even if you have a high chance of not surviving. The leader must decide whether or not to take the mission. That is what the tenth question is. So congratulations, you are going to the second exam!"

The window suddenly broke and a lady jumped in hanging a sign from the wall.

"There is no time to be happy," she cried out. "I am the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's go to the next exam! Follow me!"

"Grasp the atmosphere," Ibiki whispered.

Anko glared at him. "Ninty-three? Ibiki, you let thirty-one teams pass? The First Exam must have been too soft."

"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time," Ibiki responded.

Anko sighed. "Oh well…I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam." Anko threatened. "I'm getting excited. I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin teachers about the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed!"

The Genins left the room. Aiko, Mai, and Kwan walked back to their hotel together.

_'More than half?'_ Mai thought.

_'I'm nervous about this. I wonder what Kwan is thinking,'_ Aiko pondered.

_'More than half? She seems certain. It probably means that the exam will consist of having something that only half of the teams can receive and that extra teams can fail. No matter, it will be easy,' _Kwan thought.

They went home and prepared for the next day…

**-The next morning-**

The Dark Team (A/N that's how I'll refer to them) were standing among other Genins at a place with a fence around it with signs on it.

"Forbidden Area," it said.

There was a little booth to the side with Chuunins sitting at it.

"This is where the Second Exam will take place," Anko spoke. "The 44th training area…also known as the Forest of Death."

There was a gust of wind and Naruto repeated the last three words, "Forest…of…Death?"

-----

Hope you like it. Sry for the long update again. School started for me. Ugh…I hate high school. Anyways, tell me what you think. Second exam is next with more action.


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